Founder guide · Worked example: Austin, Texas
Food truck permits and licensesStep by step, with a printable permit binder
Since July 1, 2026, one Texas license replaces the city health permits for food trucks. Walk around an Austin truck with us: the state license, the commissary, the fire inspection, where you may park, and the papers that ride along. Every step links to the office that issues it.
Free, no signup. Rules as of October 2026.
Who issues what
Five layers of paperwork, one truck
A food truck answers to the IRS, to the State of Texas, to the city it parks in, to its home base and to the calendar. Here is who issues what in Austin. Tap a permit to jump to it.
- FederalIRS
- State of TexasSecretary of State · Comptroller · county tax office · DSHS
- City of AustinAustin Fire Department · Land Development Code
- Your baseCommissary · servicing area
- Every yearYou
The business layer: the same for every truck
Do these first. The state license application asks for your federal tax ID and your 11-digit Texas taxpayer number, and the business name must match what the Texas Comptroller has on file.
Federal tax ID (EIN)
Your business's number with the IRS. You apply online in one sitting. The IRS says you never have to pay a fee for an EIN, so skip sites that charge for one.
IRSCost: Free
Your company
An LLC or a corporation is formed with the Texas Secretary of State. Texas has no general business license: the Governor's Business Permits Office says this filing, or an assumed name certificate from the county clerk, takes its place.
Texas Secretary of StateCost: $300 to file an LLC's certificate of formation
Sales and use tax permit
You need it before you sell taxable items in Texas. At events around Texas, you collect tax based on the location of each event. File a return for every period, even when you had no sales.
Texas ComptrollerCost: No fee, but you may have to post a security bond
Registration and insurance
Every trailer on public roads must be registered (farm trailers aside), and a manufactured trailer over 4,000 lbs. gross weight must also be titled, at your county tax assessor-collector's office. The state license application asks for proof of vehicle insurance and a copy of the driver's license of whoever drives or tows the truck.
County tax office (TxDMV rules) · your insurer
The state license
The Texas mobile food vendor license
Anyone who sells food or drinks from a truck, trailer or pushcart in Texas needs it, one license per vehicle. Your type depends on what you do with the food, and the type sets the fees. Tap a type to see it.
Both fees are due when you apply; the application fee includes the Texas Online fee. Every type gets a pre-licensing inspection, Type I just pays no fee for it. Later routine inspections cost $400 (Type II) or $500 (Type III), complaint or compliance inspections $300, $400 or $500 by type. Not sure which type you are? Ask DSHS before you apply.
- 1
Apply online
Register in DSHS Online Licensing Services and pick the Mobile Food Vendor Initial Application. Attach proof of insurance, a copy of the driver's license, your menu and an itinerary of the places and times you plan to sell.
Texas DSHS
- 2
Schedule the pre-licensing inspection
After DSHS processes your application, you get a letter to schedule the inspection. You bring the truck to the inspection site. When no state inspector is free, an inspector from a partner agency may come instead; Austin Public Health is one of them, and the rules are the same statewide.
Texas DSHS
- 3
One license, one year, on display
Pass the inspection and you get the license. It expires one year from the day you passed. Texas law says you display the license and your health inspection certificate where the public can see them.
Texas DSHS · Health and Safety Code ch. 437B
Had a city permit before July 1, 2026?
Then you may keep selling while you wait for the state inspection: apply with DSHS, show your old license, pay, and keep the printed application summary and payment receipt on the truck at all times. Without a current Texas license, you can't sell until you pass the pre-licensing inspection.
Outside Texas, ask your city or county health department which food truck permit you need and what it costs.
Truck and base
Your truck needs a home base
Unless DSHS grants an exemption, a food truck works from a central preparation facility (CPF), often called a commissary: an approved food business where you prepare and store food, fill fresh water and ice, empty wastewater and clean what doesn't fit in the truck's sink.
Not your home
A private home can't be your commissary or your servicing area.
A letter from the owner
If you don't own the commissary or the servicing area, you need a signed letter of authorization. Keep the commissary's most recent inspection on the truck.
Log every visit
The servicing log shows the date and time you filled fresh water and emptied wastewater, grease or cooking waste. Page 2 of the permit binder below is a blank log.
Tanks and restrooms
The wastewater tank must be at least 15% larger than the fresh water tank. The truck doesn't need a restroom, but your staff need one nearby during all hours you operate.
The exemption
DSHS can let a truck work without a commissary when it can cook, hold and store food safely on board beyond its hours, its sink fits the largest pan, and you keep records of approved water, wastewater disposal and your loaded vehicle weight from TxDOT. The inspector goes through an exemption checklist.
Outside Texas, ask your city or county health department whether your truck needs a commissary.
Inspection day
Two inspections before your first sale
In Austin, a truck that cooks with propane or grease-producing appliances gets two: the health inspection for the state license and a fire inspection from the Austin Fire Department. Both look at the truck itself, so bring it ready to work: DSHS wants it running on its own, without a power cord, water hose or drain hooked up.
Health: the pre-licensing inspection
Bring with you
- Driver's license or CDL
- Your menu
- Employee health policy
- Food allergen poster
- Proof of insurance and TxDOT information
- Itinerary
- Food manager and food handler certificates, if your type needs them
- Commissary or servicing area papers, if you use one
The inspector checks the truck too: hot and cold running water under pressure at every sink, a handwashing sink with soap and towels, a three-compartment sink big enough for your largest utensil, tanks labeled "potable water" and "wastewater", screens on open windows, and equipment that keeps cold food at 41°F or below and hot food at 135°F or above. Be ready to answer questions about your food sources, your restroom, your illness policy and your tank sizes.
When you handle open food that needs temperature control, a certified food manager is required. DSHS says food employees take an accredited food handler course within 30 days of starting the job.
Fire: the Austin Fire Department inspection
What the fire inspector checks
- 2A10BC fire extinguisher with a current yearly tag
- Class K extinguisher for fryers, wood or charcoal (and on every new unit)
- Hood fire suppression with a current 6-month tag (new permits)
- Propane report from a licensed LPG plumber, every year
- Electrical form from a master electrician (first permit)
- License plate and VIN match the forms
Trucks with propane, or with any appliance that makes grease-laden vapors (electric ones too), need it before they work inside Austin city limits. No propane and no cooking equipment, like an ice cream or coffee cart? Then you don't need it. You apply online and pay the invoice in the city's AB+C portal. After you pass, you get a permit for one year.
Cost: $222 per inspection. A failed, late (more than 15 minutes) or missed inspection means paying again.
Propane cylinders for cooking: 200 lbs. in total at most, a current hydrostatic date stamp, and never on the rear bumper, on the outside walls, below the frame or in the cab.
Selling outside Austin city limits but in Travis County? Then the Travis County Fire Marshal issues the fire permit.
Why fire inspections fail
Austin Fire lists expired service tags, missing or incomplete forms, a plate or VIN that doesn't match the forms, and gas lines disconnected after the pressure test, which voids the propane form.
Where you can sell
Where your food truck may park in Austin
The state license lets you sell anywhere in Texas, but local location and zoning rules still apply. In Austin they are in section 25-2-812 of the Land Development Code (mobile food establishments). Tap a rule to see it on the lot.
More Austin rules
- Generators and speakers: 70 decibels at most, measured at the property line across from or next to homes.
- Signs only on the truck, mounted flat, sticking out 6 inches at most.
- A trash can for guests during business hours, and no litter around the truck.
- No drive-in service, and outside lights shielded from homes.
- No permanent water or wastewater hookup. Power only from a temporary utility connection or an onboard generator.
- A stop of three hours or less on private property between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. is exempt from this section.
- Neighborhood associations can ask the city council for extra distance and hour rules in their area.
- At special events, Austin's event planning guide says every mobile vendor is subject to a fire inspection.
In another city, ask the planning or zoning office where trucks may park, and check with the fire marshal before your first event.
On the road
What renews, and what rides along
Every paper on a food truck has its own clock. Keep the dates in one place and check them before each inspection.
Every 6 months
Hood suppression tag
New AFD permits need a current semi-annual tag on the hood system.
Every year
State license (DSHS)
It expires one year after the inspection you passed. Renewal notices go to the mailing address in your application, and the law lets you keep selling while your renewal is pending.
AFD fire permit
A one-year permit: book the next fire inspection before it runs out.
Propane inspection report
From a licensed LPG plumber, every year, before the fire inspection.
Fire extinguisher tags
Each extinguisher needs a current yearly inspection tag.
Date printed on it
Food manager certificate
DSHS says it's valid for five years. Check the date printed on yours.
Keep on the truck
- Mobile food vendor license and health inspection certificate, where guests can see them
- Your commissary's most recent inspection, if you use one
- The servicing log
- Current service tags on extinguishers and the hood system
- Until your first state inspection (city permit holders): the printed DSHS application summary and payment receipt
Free tool
Food truck permit binder (printable)
One sheet for every document that rides along. Check off what's in your binder, write down the number, who issued it and when it expires, then print it or save it as a PDF. Page 2 is a blank servicing log. US Letter or A4. Nothing is sent anywhere: what you type stays in this browser.
0 of 21 in the binder
Add expiration dates and the next renewal shows up here.
Saved in this browser only.
Paper
Not legal advice
This guide is general information for food trucks in Austin, Texas, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Rules, fees and forms change, and your truck or menu may need more. Check with each office before you apply, build or buy.
Rules as of October 2026
Sources
Every rule and fee on this page comes from the agency's own page or the rule itself. We checked each one on October 15, 2026.
- Texas DSHSMobile food vendors (license types, fees, July 1, 2026)
- Texas DSHSMobile Food Vendor Guide (May 2026, PDF)
- Texas DSHSHow to submit an MFV application (PDF)
- Texas DSHSWhat MFVs need to know about license changes (PDF)
- Texas DSHSWho should be licensed as an MFV (PDF)
- Texas DSHSLocal agencies helping conduct MFV inspections
- Texas LegislatureHouse Bill 2844 (Health and Safety Code ch. 437B)
- Texas Administrative Code (Texas Secretary of State)25 TAC chapter 226: mobile food vendors
- Texas Food Establishment Rules (Texas Secretary of State)25 TAC § 228.31: certified food protection manager
- Texas DSHSCertified food manager training programs
- Texas DSHSFood handler training programs (30 days)
- Austin Public HealthMobile food vendors (transition to the state)
- Austin Public HealthEnvironmental Health Services retail program changes
- Austin Fire DepartmentMobile food vending fire inspections
- Travis County Fire MarshalMobile food vendors (fire inspections in Travis County)
- City of Austin (Municode)Land Development Code § 25-2-812: mobile food establishments
- City of Austin, Austin Center for EventsEvent planning guide (food trucks in the right-of-way)
- IRSApply for an EIN online
- Texas Secretary of StateForm 205: Certificate of Formation, LLC (instructions)
- Office of the Texas GovernorBusiness Permits Office (no general state license)
- Texas ComptrollerTexas sales and use tax permit
- Texas ComptrollerSales tax permit FAQ (no fee, security bond, returns)
- Texas ComptrollerPublication 96-211: fairs, festivals, markets and shows
- Texas Department of Motor VehiclesTrailers: registration and title
Questions about food truck permits
What permits do I need for a food truck in Texas?
Since July 1, 2026: the state mobile food vendor license from DSHS (one per truck), an EIN, a sales and use tax permit, vehicle registration and insurance, a certified food manager if you handle open food that needs temperature control, and a commissary unless DSHS exempts your truck. On top come local rules: in Austin, the fire inspection from the Austin Fire Department for trucks with propane or grease-producing appliances, and the city's location and zoning rules.
How much does a food truck permit cost in Texas?
The state license costs $309 for Type I, $618 plus a $400 pre-licensing inspection for Type II, and $876 plus a $500 inspection for Type III (most trucks that cook). In Austin, the fire inspection is $222. An EIN and the sales tax permit are free, and forming an LLC costs $300. The truck, the commissary and insurance depend on quotes: there is no honest single number for those.
Do I need a business license for a food truck?
Texas has no general business license. The Governor's Business Permits Office says your filing with the Secretary of State, or an assumed name certificate from the county clerk, takes its place. What a food truck needs are the permits in this guide: the state mobile food vendor license, the sales tax permit and the local fire inspection.
Do I still need a food truck permit from the City of Austin?
Not for health anymore: since July 1, 2026, Austin Public Health no longer issues mobile food vendor permits, and DSHS licenses all trucks. The city still does the fire inspection for trucks with propane or grease-producing appliances, and its zoning code decides where you may park.
How long is a food truck license valid?
The DSHS license expires one year from the day you passed the pre-licensing inspection. The Austin fire permit is also issued for one year. The permit binder has an expiration column for each document, so you see what renews next.
Do I need a commissary for a food truck in Texas?
Unless DSHS exempts your truck, yes. A food truck works from a central preparation facility (commissary); DSHS can grant an exemption after going through its checklist with you. A private home can't be your commissary, and you need a signed letter if you don't own it.
Can I park my food truck on the street in Austin?
Only with a street event permit from the Austin Center for Events. Otherwise you sell on private property in a commercial or industrial zoning district (ask the owner first), at least 50 feet from mixed homes-and-shops buildings and 20 feet from restaurants, and not between 3 and 6 a.m.
Can I sell in other Texas cities with one license?
Yes: the DSHS license lets you operate anywhere in Texas. Each city's fire codes, location rules and zoning still apply, so check with the city before you park there. Outside Austin city limits in Travis County, the fire permit comes from the Travis County Fire Marshal.
I'm not in Texas. Does this guide still help?
The shape is the same in most places: a tax ID and a sales tax permit, a health permit, a fire check for propane, a home base and rules on where you may park. The offices and fees differ. Start with your city or county health department, then the fire marshal and the zoning office. The EIN is the same everywhere.
Is the permit binder free? Do I need to sign up?
It's free and needs no account. What you type stays in your browser only. Print it or save it as a PDF, on US Letter or A4, filled in or as a blank copy, with a blank servicing log on page 2.
Opening a café with a counter instead of a truck? Our guide on how to open a coffee shop covers the permits for a fixed location, with a printable opening checklist.
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